For those who pierce their baby's ears...

[Username7654321]

Would you see it as okay to pierce their nose? Eyebrow? Tongue? Why is it okay to stab a needle through the ear lobe, when presumably most people would be horrified by any other piercing on a baby?!

Yelling 🙄

Of course!

I minced my words and said offensive instead of judgemental. In the context of this thread they pretty much mean the same thing.

I will again say that you pointing out my assumption that the average poster on the thread was middle class, whilst not being concerned about the chavy, uneducated, tasteless, vile, tacky comments made by others is telling.

It also fits nicely with the 'I'm off, I feel all so threatened' narrative.

Oh and I'm solidly middle class btw!

In my family ear piercing was the done thing, as soon as a baby had finished it's first 3 courses of vacinations, they would get there ears pierced. I honestly don't think that any of my family thought about the pain or the child's choice, it was just how the generations were brought up. I had 2 sets of piercings by age 3. I honestly can't remember having them.
However I chose not to have my child's done. My eldest dd was allowed them when she asked. (Age 6 after alot of begging and being told it would hurt.) She was fine having it done and absolutly loves them. It was her choice. I wouldnt make the decision for my children and dont think i could have seen any of my babies cry for no good reason.
But I think people are brought up seeing this as the normal thing to do no questions asked. I assume from things I was told about choosing not to have my babies ears pierced, is that mothers doit to show the child is a girl and think they are pretty.
Ear piercing is a mass cultural thing, other piercings have not long been fashionable so who knows what the norm might be for baby ear piercing in 50 years.

I've not read any of the replies which is probably a bad idea but whatever.... 😁

OP, I'm not sure what your AIBU is but I get that you are not a fan of ear piercings on little kids and I don't find that unreasonable.

My view is that you shouldn't do anything permanent to anyone else's body without their informed consent unless it's in their interests for example an injection. It's not relevant whether pierced ears on little kids look cute or 'chavvy' its not a parents right to decide for the child.

I had my ears pierced out in the Middle East when I was around 10. I wanted it done. My father took my side, pointing out to my mother that his mother and grandmother had pierced ears, which is going back into the 19th century; we weren't posh, just respectable Scots working class trades. It was my middle class mother, born in 1920 who didn't have hers pierced until I had mine done and she saw the ease and convenience over clips or screws. Having it done earlier would have been fine with me.

I hate seeing young babies/children with pierced ears and yes I judge! You're allowed to do this to your child and I'm sure as hell allowed to judge you for it.

After begging my mum for ages she finally relented and let me have mine pierced at age 12. They used the "gun" type thing to do it and it hurt, my ears were painful for a longtime and I have had lifelong issues with occasional soreness and gunk and build ups of nasty little cysts. I learned later that the piercing guns used to pierce ears are the worst way to do it and creates a lot of damage to the ear lobe and my ear problems are very common it turns out.

If I had a dd I would similarly make her wait until the oldest possible age and then I would take her to the best professional piercer and have them do it the right (NO Gun!).

OP YANBU - I really detest seeing babies or toddlers with pierced ears. It's an individual choice, just not my cup of tea.

Like Rainbunny I was from an age where I had to wait till I was 13. Even then my parents weren't keen, even less keen when massive hoops with a perm was fashion. Bejesus you're just asking for trouble.

If you don’t like children’s ears being pierced..don’t pierce your child’s ear. Simple. I really don’t see it as anyone’s business. I know for my family it’s in our culture for babies to have their ears pierced.

WhatamI

in your hysterical defence of YOUR parents' choice - as that is all you can really speak to, despite thinking you're some kind of worldwide piercing wiki, you come across as biased and rather clueless. Are you sure they didn't pierce part of your brain at the same time?!

Like it or not: some people would have seen your pierced ears as a baby and thought, eeeeow. You don't get to control other people's views or reactions in life - just as you didn't even get to control your own ears!

If you get your baby's ears pierced you really are a numpty.

What benefit does it serve other than vanity? And conforming to some scummy perception about how all women and girls should look?

It's pretty fucking gross really. And yes, people are rightly judging you.

Learnt something new on this thread: if some practice or other is part of a "culture" then it is beyond reproach, not up for discussion, and automatically a decent and reasonable thing to do.

Got it

I don’t like it and have been known in the last to drop down my basket of tat at Claire’s and leave without paying because there is a baby having their ears pierced and I refuse to witness it.

Nowadays I just don’t shop in places that will do this, I think it’s completely barbaric and there is zero need.

The only ear piercing I have now is through the back of my ear to help with migraine relief (which believe it or not has worked wonders!)

Sorry posted too soon.

I think there should be a legal age for ear piercings and I think 1 day old is not old enough more like 8 YEARS!

Lol Rebecca.... So simple it's funny.

I'm not hysterical at all. Just sharing my actual experience. But, of course, you know more just because youre you, and people like you are infinitely smarter?

You'd all welcome Muslim women for instance, trying to improve the hygiene of western women by sharing, amongst themselves only, the uncivilised nature of not showering/bathing daily. Or would you think thier views were prejudiced and unwarranted? Especially since you didn't call for your norm to be looked at as it hadn't actually harmed you or anyone else that you know! Therefore making thier opinion nothing more than an un-evidenced opinion?

Its funny that posters have critiqued my albeit limited view, but come up with NO evidence of these damaged people that you're advocating on behalf of. My 100 to your 0 (or so called 1 in some posters case) does for now, infact, make my point more valid. Never mind the amount of women coming on to this thread stating no issue with it versus those in uproar about other women's piercings, not thier own!

Carry on with these assumptions, the world and it's millions of abused women will thank you for it I'm sure😂 Don't forget to confidently share it outside of your immediate circles too! Expect some eyerolling at best, some honest laughs, or to be entirely ignored and told to get over yourselves and your assumed intelligence.

Seriously, I'm just trying to give you a small insight into what you all look and sound like outside of your head up your own ass bubbles!

You might have thought eeeow looking at my ears but my point remains. Thanks for your concern, you needn't waste it over here!

This uproar is solidly about middle class women judging and patting themselves on the back for thier reasoned, developed, civilised thinking.

If any of you really cared about women's/children's rights this topic would be so far down the line of concerns.

You all come across as slightly bored but whatever makes you feel good I suppose! 🙄

It's funny that those so sure of thier liberal and open mind credentials can't see when they're being the exact opposite themselves.

Stand for the oppressed. Just do it where it has been asked!

My DD was young - by MN standards - and looked beautiful. I'm not bothered by anyone else's opinion.

A poster has just called millions of women numpties.

I'm sure I'm going to see all of you so concerned for women's rights up in arms about this?

How do you find it in yourselves to care that much about what others do? Especially when that haven't complained. 🙄

Bored busy bodies!

The findings suggest that not only do babies experience pain much like adults but that they also have a much lower pain threshold.

www.ox.ac.uk/news/2015-04-21-babies-feel-pain-adults

just putting this out there...

WhatamImissimg. Numpties and bored busybodies eh?

WhatAmIMissing - people can choose to wash however frequently, or infrequently as they like as it's not harming anyone.

Go and watch a baby have it's ears pierced and then tell us it isn't hurting them.

Username765432117927438374275evidentlyasecondusername985934859376839

What do you get out of this thread? Are you wanting a pat on the back? Are you wanting to wind people up? Perhaps you are wanting to make others feel bad about a decision they have made.

Only you know why, you an evident seasoned user has felt the need to rehash this overdone subject. May I suggest for your next offering breast Vs bottle or the under-debated SAHM vsWOHM

What do you get out of this thread?

I'm trying to understand why ear piercings is seen as acceptable when others wouldn't. I also wonder for those that pierce babies ears whether they think the helix / tragus would be acceptable or why "it's pretty/cute/girly" etc

I think piercing baby's ears is barbaric, and I am glad people are raising the issue. Things won't change if we stay quiet. If it makes people think, eventually we'll go somewhere.

Making some people need to realise that they don't have to do something, just because their grand parents and parents did it. This applies to so many things.

Whatamimissing - was ever there such an apt username!

You either agree with modifying someone else's body without their consent or you don't. Yes there are extremes at both ends of "modification", but it's a black and white question. You clearly do because your family did it. That's up to you. But it still means you are sanctioning unlicensed permanent body changes to someone else's body.

Culture is a terrible reason to justify anything. Lots of cultural norms result in awful outcomes for individuals. Look at the western cultural obsession with men being manly, roar, boys mustn't cry or show feelings etc. Yeah. That works really well when you look at the stats on lonely men and male suicide.

WhatAmI the reason people are discussing baby ear piercing here rather than far worse forms of oppression against females is because this is a thread about baby ear piercing.
And your insistence that people who disagree with you are in uproar and up their own ass bubbles while those in agreement simply state their opinion suggests a lack of facility with reasoned debate. Such attacks don't support your argument at all.

I, and, I'm sure, most people couldn't give a stuff what a Muslim woman (or anyone else) thinks about my personal hygiene habits.

I didn't even understand the garbled shower paragraph at first, it was so poorly written. It seems to be saying all Muslim women shower daily and all western women don't. So yet more assumptions that whatami knows more about everyone else in the whole world